As TVs get thinner and thinner, there is one big downside: There’s no room left for good speakers. One solution is to add an audio system, but that involves a lot of extra money and a bunch of wires to try to keep from tangling. The easier solution is a soundbar. On their own, these sleek devices don’t provide quite the same immersive sound as full surround-sound systems, but they do give you an excellent — and much simpler to install — approximation. To help you find the best soundbar for your setup and budget (along with a few multi-speaker options), we spoke with 11 sound engineers, recording industry professionals, and audiophiles. We also tested out a few ourselves. Here are the favorites.
Best overall soundbar
Sonos Arc Soundbar
Seven of our experts recommend Sonos’s smart soundbars, and 3 specifically mentioned the Arc. “If you’re looking for something cost-effective and plug-and-play, the Sonos Arc is great for those who want a minimalist footprint with a convenient all-in-one audio solution,” says Justin Schwartz, owner of Sage AV in New York City. “The Arc easily connects to any TV to improve the acoustics for all your shows and movies, in addition to providing all the bells and whistles of a stand-alone smart speaker for the times you just want to listen to music.” Plus, the Arc has “the benefit of being part of the Sonos ecosystem,” says Mark Feinberg, founder of Home Theater Advisors in New York City. That means you can add additional Sonos speakers or a subwoofer and group speakers in various rooms to play music seamlessly throughout your home. And the quality is excellent. Our colleague Chris Welch at the Verge says, when paired with a subwoofer, “the Arc delivered sound as immersive as the multiple-speaker Atmos system. If you didn’t know the Arc was bouncing sound off the ceiling and rear wall, you would easily believe that there were speakers there.”
Best overall (less-expensive) soundbar
Sonos Beam Soundbar
Two of our experts recommend the Beam, and Welch likes it as an alternative to the Arc for setups that are tight on space. Although it’s not going to get you quite the same depth of sound as the Arc, Feinberg says the Beam “sounds very good and really serves a purpose for those smaller or budget-oriented needs.” Audiovisual and acoustics consultant Matt Mahon of LSTN calls the Beam his “personal pick.” Along with the sound quality, he likes how the speaker can be connected to your phone over Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth. That way, when you want to use it to play music, you don’t have to worry about the signal dropping because you walk too far from the speaker. Plus, he says, “it’s dead easy to expand to add a Sonos subwoofer and satellite surrounds.”
Best budget soundbar
Yamaha YAS-109 Soundbar
Sound engineer Nicholas Radina is frequently asked what he uses in his personal life. Eschewing pro equipment, “I strive to keep it simple at home and gravitate toward brands I use often,” he says. “A brand I trust day in and day out is Yamaha.” He loves the YAS series of soundbars, particularly the YAS-109 as a “great, affordable entry.” Or for a little more money, the YAS-209 adds an “easy-to-deploy subwoofer” for those looking for a slightly fuller sound, he says. (His tip: “Put the sub in a corner to take advantage of the ‘boundary effect,’ which will give a nice, free loudness bump to your low end without needing more power or larger enclosure.”)
Leave a Reply